by Esther P. Chase

Engagement Ring Charms for Stevie's Charms Bracelet

It was time for Steve and I to purchase an engagement ring charm for a charm bracelet. Stevie had asked Laura to marry him before returning to Harvard for his final year of law school. I remember like it was yesterday, the day Stevie sat us down to have a serious talk with his father and I, asking for our blessing. Immediately my mind raced with thoughts of charms in 14kt gold, in white and yellow, and sterling silver for Stevie's charm bracelet. My heart skipped a beat, thinking of gold baby charms and silver anniversary charms that I could buy in the not-so-distant future. We were thrilled, though I did wonder how much he needed our blessing, since he had already bought the engagement ring. We looked at the engagement ring charms and settled on one to be added to Stevie's charm bracelet.

Laura's parents invited us to Boston for the engagement party. Elizabeth and I wore our charms bracelets, and they made for relaxed conversation, which is not always easy when meeting for the first time. Each story from my charms jewelry collection elicited a similar story from Laura's mother and we immediately became fast friends. Laura's mother, Amy, was enchanted with our charms bracelet family tradition and looked forward to seeing Stevie's charm bracelet.

Laura and Stevie decided to wait until he graduated from law school and took the bar exam before getting married. Elizabeth would be one of Laura's bridesmaids and she ordered one of the bridesmaid's charms from the Rembrandt charms collection.

When Elizabeth returned home for summer break before her last year of veterinary school, I saw her charms bracelet had gotten very full. She had added several more animal charms to her charms bracelet in both silver and 14K gold. Her father and I decided one of her veterinary school graduation gifts would be a 14kt white gold charm bracelet with a charm from the Medical Professional charms collection.

I remember my "angst" when I realized Stevie's wedding and Elizabeth's graduation from veterinary college would both be in the same year. Fortunately, Elizabeth received her degree in June; Stevie and Laura had planned a Christmas wedding. This allowed time for Elizabeth to study for her national veterinary board exam and for me to make plans for Stevie's wedding.

Stevie told us his wedding gift to Laura would be one 14K white gold charm bracelet from www.chains-and-charms.com. He ordered a charm for her charms bracelet from the wedding charms collection. They planned on starting their own family tradition with her charms bracelet. I was happy Stevie wanted to continue the family tradition, but my thoughts were bittersweet: A son is a son until he takes a wife; a daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life.

Chapter 15 - Stevie's Charm for a New Job